


Diving Deep into A Splash of Red

by BabyShark



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Fluff, Flushed Romance | Matesprits, M/M, Pale Romance | Moirallegiance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-01-29
Updated: 2012-10-28
Packaged: 2017-10-30 07:52:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,648
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/329504
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BabyShark/pseuds/BabyShark
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>With the nights growing colder as they did every sweep around this time, all the sea-trolls on Alternia knew they had to find a host.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Short intro what can I say. The future chapters should be much longer.  
> Alright so this is set before the game if you hadn't noticed already. So Eridan and Feferi are still Moirails.  
> Also, if anyone is good with HTML or is at least good with explaining how to get the text a different color it would be greatly appreciated. I can't seem to get it to work on the site.

With the nights growing colder as they did every sweep around this time, all the sea-trolls on Alternia knew they had to find a host. A troll willing to house a highblood, though most of the time the arrangements weren’t very pleasant. As it was known that higher bloods have a somewhat…forceful tendency. Though winter wasn’t only a bad time for sea-trolls and their poor hosts, you see, winter on Alternia is harsh. Food needed to be gathered ahead of time and be able to last, the cold killed many trolls caught in its horrid winds, as well as left many young wrigglers orphaned for multiple other reasons. It was a hard time for all, and the few trolls who had friends were blessed this time of sweep.

Two of these seemingly blessed sea-trolls were currently looking for a host. The first of the two, Feferi Peixes, seemed to find a host easily. The first troll that she asked was still dangerously close to the sea, though of course it was needed.

 

Feferi was currently in her hive tidying up and packing a few things into a bag before captchaloguing it, as well a few other items she believed she might need. Of course her lusus already knew where she was going and knew Feferi would keep feeding her as best she could under the conditions. The young sea-troll left her hive, looking back for a moment knowing she wouldn’t come back here until winter was over. She kicked her legs swiftly, a bit too naturally. The swim to shore would only take about thirty minutes for her.

Those thirty minutes were spent thinking about her host, her moirail, and her lusus. It was an understatement to say she was just excited about staying with someone for the winter. Though she couldn’t help but wonder how living with this troll would be like. Would she like it? Would she hate it? Would she come back next sweep? Or would she try to leave his hive early and try to live with Kanaya again for the rest of the winter? Soon her thoughts left this and she was thinking about her moirail. Had he found a troll to live with yet? She hoped so! The Alternian days were getting colder much quicker, and if he stayed on his little shipwreck island, he would freeze to death! Not only would she miss his whining and gossip, but what about her lusus? How could she feed it without him!?  So many worries and questions to be answered, some sooner than others, gathered in her head.

Before she knew it, she was on shore, a large smile on her face as she walked in the direction of the hive clearly visible from the water. There was a noticeable bounce in her step. She knocked on the door of the oddly shaped hive. A scuffling of shoes could be heard from inside, as well as whoever it was tripping on what sounded like horns. The door swung open to reveal none other than Gamzee Makara. “Sup sis,” the troll said a smile laid gently on his lips, “welcome to my motherfucking humble abode!” the slight fluctuation in his voice apparent. As he was stepping aside to let her in, he stepped on a horn that had been lying on the floor and scared himself as she walked in the door. Feferi’s smile never faltered, though she was a tad surprised to see just how many horns the troll had, and they were everywhere! This was going to have to take some getting used to!

After Gamzee had shown her to a GuestBlock she managed to quickly unpack most of her things and set up her husktop. She turned it on immediately. The heir just _had_ _to_ know if her moirail had found anyone to stay with. Logging onto Trollian, she saw he was online and started pestering him as soon as the husktop allowed.

 

 **` --`** cuttlefishCuller [CC] began trolling caligulasAquarium [CA]  --

CC: )(-EY!

CA: oh hey fef

CA: im kinda busy

CC: W)(at’s wrong? 38C

CA: its nothin

CC: --Eridan!! Come on! You can tell me I am your moirail after all!

CA: fef its nothin

CC: PL-EAS-E?

CA: fine

CA: i cant find a fuckin host

CA: no one wwants to share their fuckin hivve wwith me

CA: im goin to fuckin freeze to death because a them

CC: No you’re not! I’m s)(ore w)(ale figure somet)(ing out!

CA: fef

CC: Yes? 38)

CA: could i crash wwith you and gam

CC: No no no!! Come on! You need to find someone else to stay wit)(!

CC: You talk to Karkat a lot! Maybe you s)(ould ask him!  


CC:  )(ave you asked )(im?

CA: wwhat

CA: a course I asked him

CC: )(-E)(-E!! 38)

CA: and he said no just like all the rest

CA: wwhats that hehe for

CC: WHAL-E maybe you s)(ould ask him again! maybe you s)(ould tell him that no one wants to be your )(ost? )(-E)(-E!!

CA: wwhat

CA: wwhy wwould i do that

CC: w)(ale you know karkat ALWAYS wants to be the leaderly type!!

CC: just tell him that’s w)(at leaders do!! )(e)(e!!

CC: besides you need someone to stay wit)(!

CA: fine wwhatever ill do it

\-- caligulasAquarium [CA] ceased trolling cuttlefishCuller [CC]—


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Eridan asks Karkat....and Feferi knew about his feelings?

Eridan sat at his husktop, thinking about the conversation with his beloved moirail. Of course he knew he had to find a host, and what worried him was he already asked Karkat. In fact, Karkat was the first troll he asked! The Cancer never did give him a real reason why he didn’t want him to stay over. Eridan huffed, remembering the conversation, hoping to use something in it to his advantage. If he remembered correctly it went something like-

\-- ** _caligulasAquarium [CA]_** began trolling **_carcinoGeneticist [CG]_** \--

CA: hey kar

CG: WHAT THE EVER LOVING GRUB FUCK DO YOU WANT NOW BULGEMUNCHER?

CG: NO LET ME GUESS.

CG: YOU WANT TO FUCKING BLABBER ON ABOUT NOTHING AT ALL FOR NO FUCKING REASON AGAIN. BEING THE COMPLETE FUCKING IDIOT YOU ARE.

CG: ISN’T POINTLESS TALKING WHAT YOU SHOULD BE DOING WITH FEFERI?

CA: kar

CA: shut up an let me talk

CG: OH YEAH I CAN SEE THIS IS GOING TO FUCKING END WELL. WITH YOU TELLING ME WHAT TO FUCKING DO.

CG: WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO DO YOUR FUCKING HIGHNESS?

CA: kar seriously

CG: JUST SPIT IT THE FUCK OUT ALREADY NOOKSTAIN.

CA: fine wwhatevver be an ass

CG: FINE WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU WANT.

CA: kar you knoww howw seadwwellers need to find a host

CA: wwell i wwas wwonderin if i could stay wwith you

CA: kar

CA: are you still there

CG: I’M STILL HERE. I’M JUST GAGGING AT THE THOUGHT OF YOU COMING INTO MY HIVE.

CG: SERIOUSLY WHAT MAKES YOU THINK I WOULD LET YOU STAY HERE?

CG: YOU MUST HAVE HIT YOUR FUCKING THINK PAN AGAINST THE WALL.

CG: IN CASE YOUR STUPID FISH FACE DOESNT UNDERSTAND WHAT I’M SAYING.

CG: NO YOU CAN’T STAY WITH ME.

CG: NOW FUCK OFF.

\-- ** _carcinoGeneticist [CG]_** ceased trolling **_caligulasAquarium [CA]_** \--

Eridan frowned at the memory of his last conversation with the lower blood. Moving his legs onto the chair pressed against his chest, he stared at the screen. In truth, he didn’t really want the other to get upset with him for asking again. He let out a large breath that was clearly visible in the air, his breath much warmer than the air around it. Remembering how everyone else turned him down, he really could freeze to death if Karkat didn’t accept him. A frown settled on his face, scared almost.

The Aquarius sighed and checked to see if he was still online, opening the chat box. He didn’t send a message though, now realizing he didn’t know how to ask this time. Lost in thought trying to come up with something other than ‘hey kar’, though was soon pulled from his thoughts when he heard a ping.

\-- ** _caligulasAquarium [CA]_** began trolling **_carcinoGeneticist [CG]_** \--

CG: OH MY FUCKING GOD.

CG: WHAT DON’T YOU GET ABOUT ‘FUCK OFF’?  LEAVE ME THE FUCK ALONE ALREADY.

CA: kar

CG: NO DON’T YOU ‘KAR’ ME.

CG: NOW WHY THE FUCK ARE YOU MESSAGING ME. I SWEAR TO GOD IF IT’S ABOUT STAYING WITH ME I’M GOING TO RING YOUR NECK UNTIL YOUR HEAD POPS OFF AND IT STARTS RAINING PURPLE BLOOD EVERWHERE.

CG: THEN TEREZI WILL COME OUT AND HAVE A SPASM ON THE FUCKING FLOOR FROM HOW HORRIBLE IT SMELLS.

CA: kar thats disgustin

CA: and yes it is about findin a host

CG: OH MY GOD. GO AWAY.

CA: kar please

CA: there i said please

CA: no one else is goin to let me stay wwith them

CA: kar im goin to die out here

CA: kar

CA: kar are you still there

CA: kar please

CG: STOP YOUR SNIVELING.

CG: IF I SAY THAT YOU CAN STAY WITH ME WILL YOU SHUT UP?

CA: wwait

CA: really kar

CA: are you really goin to let me stay wwith you

CA: or is this a joke

CA: please let this be serious

CG: YES I’M FUCKING SERIOUS YOU WRIGGLER. NOW STOP GOING ON ABOUT IT BEFORE I CHANGE MY MIND.

CG: I GUESS I’LL HAVE A STUPID GUESTBLOCK READY BY TOMORROW OR SOME SHIT, YOU CAN COME THEN.

CG: BYE.

\-- ** _carcinoGeneticist [CG]_** ceased trolling **_caligulasAquarium [CA]_** \--

The sea-dweller sat there staring at the screen. Had that really just happened? Did Karkat Vantas actually say he was going to let him stay at his hive? Eridan looked surprised and very pleased. He was having a hard time believing what just happened, still staring at the screen. A surge of excitement and happiness swam through him, a grin on his face. His fingers moved quickly as he opened up another chat box.

\-- ** _caligulasAquarium [CA]_** began trolling **_cuttlefishCuller [CC]_** \--

CA: fef youre the best <>

\-- ** _caligulasAquarium [CA]_** ceased trolling **_cuttlefishCuller [CC]_** \--

CC: Glub?

He left his husktop and went to start packing, overly happy. He stood there unsure of what he would need to have with him for the winter. Scarves, he knew he would need some of his scarves, maybe a couple of his capes. Eridan wasn’t one used to going places, and tried to remember last winter. He had stayed with Vriska Serket, and they had pretty much fought the whole winter. It wasn’t actually a pleasant memory, even in a kismessitude way it was bad. Eridan cringed at the memories and tried to ignore all else except for what he had taken or needed. He had taken a few of his winter clothes to learn he should have taken more, so he had to pack that, as well as simple hygiene items.

                By the time he finished packing a few things early, he already had one and a half bags full of things. Not to mention he left a bunch of things out because he may need them to get ready for the next day. His excitement started to fade into worry. What if Karkat changed his mind, or it really was just a joke? The young sea-dweller started to worry about simple things that may come up with staying with such an angry little ball of rage. Or what if Eridan let it slip that- no. He could control that much right? There was no way Karkat could ever find out. No matter how strong Eridan’s emotions might have been, Karkat’s were obviously those of ‘just friends’ or even ‘barely friends’.  His emotions and worries started to well up again, he needed to talk. Going back to his husktop he saw he already had a couple of messages from his sweet moirail.

CC: -Eridan!

CC: W)(y am I suddenly t)(e best? Glub!!

CC: Answer me!!

CC: Is t)(is about KarCrab? Did )(e say yes?

CC: -Eridan! Get your fis)(y fins back )(ere and answer me! 38T

CA: hey fef

CC: T)(-ER-E YOU AR-E!

CA: i wwas doin somethin

CC: W)(AL-E? Is )(e going to let you stay over?

CA: yeah

CC: T)(is is great!

CA: fef can wwe talk

CC: -Eriglub! We ARE talking!

CA: no i mean about kar

CC: Glub?

CC: What about )(im?

CA: nevvermind

CC: UGH! W)(at is up wit)( you!! You’re never like t)(is!

CC: Just spit it out already!

CA: fine

CA: i think

CA: i might havve

CA: feelins for kar

CA: flushed feelins

CC: Glub!

CC: So you FINALLY admit it? 38D

CA: wwhat

CA: wwhat do you mean admit it

CC: W)(at a clownfis)(! I’m your moirail! I already knew!

CA: you did

CC: Of course I did!

CC: W)(y do you t)(ink I told you to ask )(im? And refused to let you stay wit)( us?

CA: wwait you did that because a this

CC: Y-ES!

CA: but fef wwhat if this ends badly

CA: wwhat if kar finds out and makes me leave

CA: and wwhat about if I do something stupid

CA: fef i dont think this is a good idea

CC: S)(-E-ES)(! –Eridan! It’s going to be fine!! Stop worrying SO muc)(! 38T

CA: but fef

CC: NO BUTS! You’re going to stay wit)( )(im and everyt)(ing is going to be fine!

CC: You s)(ould be –EXCIT-ED! Not WORRI-ED!

\-- ** _caligulasAquarium [CA]_** ceased trolling **_cuttlefishCuller [CC]_** \--

Eridan decided it would be fine to just end the conversation right there, not wanting to rile up Feferi more than he already did. Letting out another frustrated sigh, he logged out of Trollian and shut off his husktop. Maybe getting some sleep would help soothe his mind. The purple-blooded troll got up to get undressed, laying his clothes gently on a chair before slipping into his recuperacoon. His face was just out of the sopor so he could still breathe. Soon the slime got to work and began soothing his mind and muscles, forcing him to relax. It didn’t take very long for him to fall asleep.


	3. Heading To The Hive

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What would the others think? He didn’t want them thinking himself a martyr, nor did he want them thinking he pitied the stupid fool. They were friends, and that was all. Karkat had no flushed feelings for him….right?

                When the rather short troll finally decided to get off his husktop, it was late and the sun was shining through the closed curtains of windows. His eyes hurt and he was tired. He also thought over everything that had been going on. He knew the sea-trolls needed a place to sleep, and truth be told he didn’t think Eridan would ask him.

At first this upset him, causing the first half of the first conversation with Eridan to be unpleasant for both of them. Karkat shook his head slightly; having been forcing himself not to dwell on it, but it was no use. He was tired and had no control over what he thought. During the conversation, when Eridan had asked to stay over, the shorter troll realized this would cause more danger for his blood color. Sure, the Aquarius had been over before, but never had he permitted him to /stay/.

Karkat shook his head once more before going into a hall in his hive. He needed blankets, pillows, to be sure the sopor slime was clean and well, to make sure the guestblock itself was clean. The sun shone brighter the later it got and he grew even more tired, forcing himself to stay up in order to get this done. This didn’t upset him though, in fact, he was fine with it. Sure, there were a few parts he didn’t like about the other staying over. For one, the main one in fact, was his blood color. Second, his lusus would be pissed and probably make it hell for both of them. Third, he wasn’t sure he even had enough food for himself let alone the both of them, and last but not least, fourth, what would the others think? He didn’t want them thinking himself a martyr, nor did he want them thinking he pitied the stupid fool. They were friends, and that was all. Karkat had no flushed feelings for him….right?

The mutant blooded troll wore himself out. It had turned out that the guestblock was a mess and it took most of the night to clean it. Then some more time to set it up properly, as to seem at least a little welcoming. His lusus didn’t seem very pleased to find out, in the middle of the night, that his grub was still up, let alone preparing a room. Crabdad seemed extremely displeased to find out the reason for it, and thus began a strife.

To Karkat’s surprise the strife didn’t last very long and the ending of it was abrupt. It seemed, even though he didn’t like it very much, that Crabdad understood. The lusus also didn’t seem to let on what exactly he was thinking, as all he did was walk away during the strife. Cursing under his breath to his lusus, Karkat followed and watched him for a moment only to see his lusus go into its own block. It seemed he was going to sleep. A waste of time, thought Karkat walking back to the guestblock. He was nearly finished and hoped for no more interruptions.

It was several hours before he finally finished his preparations and climbed into his own ‘coon. He almost decided not to remove his clothes not caring how ruined they got, eventually deciding it would be best to sleep without them. Once he was in, all of his exhaustion seemed to catch up and he passed out almost immediately.

In the morning, when the moon was shining lovingly in the sky, Eridan awoke. He almost forgot about staying with Karkat completely had it not been for the bags he had packed the night before. The sopor began dripping off of the sea-dweller as soon as he brought himself out of it. He stood standing there for a moment so most of it would drop back in. Using his hands to clean off what he could and keep it in the ‘coon. As soon as he thought it was enough he stepped out carefully, as to not slip. Rather quickly he grabbed his glasses putting them on for the moment, while he looked for the clothes he had planned on wearing today. Once found, he took them into his hygieneblock and set them on a counter as he looked for a fresh towel.

His bathroom was elegant and vibrant, with shades of royal purple and plain white. Few other colors were found here, soft shades of grey being one.  The sink was made of a giant red abalone shell embedded into a small counter made of marble. The shell was lacquered and shined a brilliant red with bits of pearled turquoise and white. For being such a ‘poor’ color, Eridan liked the way it shone, far more brilliant than that of a plain seashell. The floor tiles were squares of marble, extremely cold in days like these. The shower on the other hand was almost completely made of glass. It was constructed in such a way that it could be filled with water if the person wished so, allowing them to swim in it a bit. The part that was made up of tile was a pearly royal purple that always looked slick. The whole bathroom itself was amazing, glorious, but still managed to pale in comparison to Feferi’s.

As he turned on the water and slipped in, he took his glasses off once again. He made sure to clean off any sopor that may have gotten on them before setting them down. He blinked a few times as he got used to the slight blurriness again and slipped into the shower. The sea-troll let the water fill up to his waist before he opened the drain a little so it could drain slowly as he showered. Eridan was one to take his time in the shower, laying back to float atop the water. He moved his hands to clean out the sopor from his hair, pulling bits out that were harder than they should be. The Aquarius rinsed himself thoroughly before actually using any kind of soap. He cleaned his skin and hair before rinsing again. Eridan then soaked in the tub while he floated for a while.

After at the very least, an hour, he drained the shower and got out. Eridan wrapped himself in a royal purple, extremely soft towel and dried himself off. He dressed and did his hair, which took at least thirty more minutes. He soon heard his lusus getting upset for taking so long. His lusus was one who got upset easily and was very, very impatient. It seemed Seahorsedad didn’t want to wait any longer. Eridan of course yelled back at him as he left the hygieneblock, the returned to his own block. The sea-dweller brought his things to the lower level and checked for anything else he may need. Eventually he found out he forgot a few things and began packing them, much to his lusus’ displeasure.

At last they were heading to Karkat’s hive, and Eridan managed to only pack two bags instead of the four like usual. He was wearing a thicker long sleeved shirt, thin fitted black gloves, and under his normal pants were thermals. He still wore his scarf and cape as well. What he was wearing was actually very little compared to most other trolls, and probably should have worn more. Lucky for him it wasn’t too cold today, and there was no wind.

He rode his lusus, waiting to just get there and let this terrible wind stop hitting him. They were quiet the whole way, which gave him time to think. The sea-troll was still rather upset that his friend was treating him so badly during their chats, but it wasn’t much of a surprise. Karkat had his days where it was much better to just leave him alone. Yesterday must have been one of those days. The Aquarius frowned to himself, always feeling terrible when Karkat got like that, even though he knew it wasn’t his fault. He hoped he didn’t get on the lower blood’s nerves, and hoped everything would end up okay during his stay. Worries of Karkat figuring out his flush-crush surfaced again and he shoved them back down. No, he couldn’t let that happen. Things could end badly if that happened… Hell, maybe Karkat wouldn’t even want to be friends if he knew. His stomach dropped slightly, his hands holding the reigns tighter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the long wait, I've been super busy and wasn't sure what to put in this chapter. I do hope you like it, and I'm still looking for someone who can help me with the formatting for colored text.


	4. Chapter 4

Eridan, after a seemingly long and worrisome ride, finally arrived. Nerves were giving him a hard time and he didn’t want to dismount his lusus. His hands were still tightly clutching the reigns, and his bags hung heavy on the seahorse. Taking a deep breath and attempting to calm himself, the Aquarius got off the lusus, taking his bags with him. It seemed like an eternity to just walk up to the door and set the bags down. Everything was in slow motion for the Aquarius. After this small encounter- that would be it, he would be living with his flush-crush for the winter. Not that said troll who he had a flush-crush on had any idea about his feelings, but if anything that’s what made this more nerve racking for him.

After a noise and nudge from his impatient lusus, he forced himself to knock. He could hear the knock echo throughout the hive. He waited a few moments, but there was no answer yet. This, sadly, gave the troll time to think. What if the Cancer didn’t want him here anymore- w hat if he had changed his mind? What if he just didn’t want to say it to his face? What if something happened to the Cancer? Panic raced through him. He knocked once more, louder and rapid knocks this time. Still they echoed, but there was still no answer.

As it turned out, the Cancer was still snug asleep in his ‘coon. Having stayed up practically all night his internal clock never when off. While in his slumber, faint knocks could be heard, causing his dreams to shift. Eventually the shifts and knocks interfered too much and they woke the slumbering troll. Opening his eyes lazily, he shifted himself up and took a deep sigh. Just as Eridan had, the Cancer forgot too. It didn’t hit him until the knocks continued that Eridan was supposed to be coming over….And according to the knocks he was already here! At this realization the Cancer began panicking. He needed to shower, get dressed, make food and- and well he was sure there was other things, he just couldn’t think of them right then. Grabbing a towel and cleaning the excess sopor off, trying to get it out of his hair. As soon as he felt that was decent enough he rushed to put his clothes on. Having been rushing it seemed he put his shirt on inside out and backwards, having to take time to fix it. He would have to shower and cook while the troll was already in, as he felt he had already been making his friend wait too long.

Rushing down the steps, and almost falling a couple of times, he made his way to the door. At this time, Eridan’s panic bar was pretty full and he was feeling like an idiot. He was just about to pick up his bags and leave- and possible fall into a pit of emotion- until Karkat swung the door open. Of course, this startled Eridan and he visibly jumped which earned him a disapproving grunt from his lusus. “Fuck Kar.” He mumbled, staring at the shorter troll as relief washed over him. It was noticeable that the Cancer had just woken up, and the larger than normal bags under his eyes told him he didn’t sleep much the night before. Suddenly, a spew of word vomit was coming out of the Cancers mouth. “Sorry about not answering the door sooner, I was still asleep and had to get dressed. My whole fucking night was spent cleaning that stupid block you’re going to stay in and I didn’t get much sleep.” It seemed was just going to ramble to himself mostly now, “Actually I don’t think I fucking slept much all grub-sucking week, stupid Captor and Makara always pestering me with dumb shit. I swear I’ll fucking pay them back, those bulge-munchers…” It seemed like the other was just going to keep on going on without inviting the Aquarius in, but that was alright. Eridan was too distracted by the fact that Karkat just woke up and still had chunks of drying sopor in his hair. It was kind of- dare he think it- adorable. Without thinking, the purple blooded troll reached out a hand and took out a chunk of dried sopor from his hair. Well that sure as hell shut him up. The Cancer stared at him puzzled and mouth slightly open from being in the middle of saying something. “What the ever loving fuck was that about?” He questioned, now embarrassed by the other noticing the bits of sopor in his hair still. Eridan’s simple answer, not to mention the only one he could think up, was, “It w-was bothering me.” He mentally cursed himself for having troubles with pronouncing W’s –and V’s. The Cancer shook it off, trying to forget the awkward moment.

As the Cancer invited them in, scree-ing could be heard from inside the house. His lusus was up and from the sound of it coming to see who was let in. Eridan’s lusus got protective over the sounds of another lusus, and stayed close to his grub. It was a very casual thing, nothing very threatening. As the Cancer’s lusus came in, Crabdad just stared at the two newcomers also going to his grub’s side. It seemed a very tense moment, and for the two troll boys- very awkward. It was silent as the two lusi stared at each other without interruptions. The silence was eerie and very uncomfortable. Were they going to attack each other? A loud bunch of noises exploded from both of the lusi, almost as if a deal was struck. Seahorse dad then proceeded to say goodbye to his grub, sniffing and nudging at him. It was always very awkward for Eridan to have his lusus be so affectionate all of a sudden, and he knew it wouldn’t last long. Soon Seahorse dad stopped his goodbyes and nudged the young troll to the other lusus, leaving the hive abruptly.

Confusion shown on the Cancer’s face, it was obvious he had never seen such a spectacle before. This was probably due to the fact that this would be the first time he housed another troll. Crabdad no longer looked very defensive and shut the hive’s door before absconding back somewhere in the house. “What the fuck was all that grub-shit about?” the Cancer questioned as soon as his lusus was out of the room.  The question, as always, was more of a demand with slight curiosity. Such a question made the Cancer feel foolish, but he knew there wasn’t much of a way to get an answer without asking. The Aquarius smiled at him, ever so slightly-in fact barely at all-, “That’s just how-w lusi confirm things, I guess.” He shrugged, not really knowing the true answer himself. “He does that ev-very time.” His answer didn’t seem to settle well with the Cancer, who wanted a straight answer. “Fine, what the fuck ever. Come on.” He huffed, grabbing one of Eridan’s bags and walking to lead the way. It was pretty noticeable that it upset him to some extent.  The purple blood frowned, not liking having upset the Cancer at all. He shuffled his other bag on his shoulder and followed the Cancer, dragging behind slightly. In his head, all he could think about was having upset him, trying to figure out what exactly he had done.

Soon they were both walking up towards a block and the Cancer shoved the door open, setting down the bag he was carrying near the door. “There. This is going to be your block for the winter.” He said rather plainly. It felt odd to him, letting someone stay here. He felt off. Perhaps this really wasn’t right. Everything suddenly felt awkward for him. “Make yourself at home I guess.” It was rather noticeable he wasn’t quiet himself, even in the way he said things. He didn’t notice the Aquarius watching him worriedly, concern and almost fear in his face. “I’m….going to shower.” The Cancer continued, standing there awkwardly for a moment before absconding the fuck out of that block. He rushed to the hygiene-block to escape the awkwardness that was creeping around them, at least for him.

Eridan stood in the room, utterly confused again. What could possibly be the matter now? Sighing, he watched the Cancer abscond out of the room and down the hall. A pit in his stomach started to grow, he wasn’t sure if it was from hunger or the way the Cancer was being. The Aquarius held his stomach for a moment, sighing and scanning the room. “W-well….I guess I should get started….” He mumbled to himself. The guest-block was newly cleaned, and it looked great. Everything was in order. There was a desk with a chair in the corner, a ‘coon in the far side of the room, drawers near the ‘coon and an empty closet.  It was plain and small compared to what the Aquarius was used to but that was fine. Picking up his bags, he walked to the drawers to stuff them full of clothes. He then moved to the closet. As he worked he got more nervous about being here. The way the Cancer had suddenly been acting was worrisome. He honestly hoped it wouldn’t be so awkward for the rest of the winter. There was no telling what would happen there would only be hope for little things here and there. That’s when it seemed to strike him. Eridan had no clue what they would do for the whole winter.

He was pulled once again from his thoughts as he heard a pitter patter of quick feet hitting the carpet and racing past his block. To tell the truth it scared him at first, not noticing the noise until it had already passed him. Making his way quietly to the door, he peered out. It seemed to be Karkat- maybe- it was hard to tell since the figure was covered with towels and racing to the Cancer’s block. Eridan tried to not laugh since it seemed the Cancer forgot to take clothes with him to the hygiene-block. He made his way back to his work since he knew if the Cancer knew he saw him- his mood would just get worse.

After quite a bit of time, the Cancer returned. He was fully dressed in his regular clothes with wet hair dripping water onto them. An act the Aquarius would never do. He always had to, at the very least, dry his hair. “Hey, are you almost fucking done yet?” Karkat asked rudely, for once it seemed like genuine rudeness. “Uh, yeah. L et me just put this aw-way,“ he said baffled by the tone. As he finished up and once again got worried, his question as to why Karkat was being so rude seemed to be answered. The Cancer’s stomach growled quite loudly as soon as Eridan finished packing. He smiled at the realization that the Cancer was only grouchy because he was hungry. Of course, the Cancer jumped to conclusions and thought that Eridan was smiling because he was trying not to laugh at him. “Shut the fuck up!” he hissed out at him only getting more upset. “I’m going to get something to fucking eat. You’re welcome to come down or just sit up here and be a dumbass.” He huffed and stomped away from the room heading down the steps to the nutrition-block. The saddened Aquarius followed quickly after him, his smile faded away. Once again had not meant to offend the Cancer, but it seemed he had.

Once they both reached the nutrition-block they saw Karkat’s lusus had already started to make them breakfast. This seemed to make the Cancer relax a bit more, not having to cook for both of them.  Eridan looked a tad curious and a bit surprised since his own lusus rarely ever cooked for him anymore. Karkat just set the table and cleaned up the block a bit. He was oddly quiet for how he usually was. Was the Cancer like this when he wasn’t with his friends? Eridan was pretty curious about the Cancer now, more so than usual at least. He stood there awkwardly for a bit before Karkat told him to sit. Before they knew it the food was ready. Karkat’s lusus absconded back somewhere into the house with a bit of food for himself and left them to eat.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gosh I'm so sorry for the time it took for this. It was ridiculous I know. Truth is I don't really know what I should even do for the next couple of chapters, and I've gotten really insecure about my writing. I feel like it's not even close to being long enough and it just sounds really choppy to me.
> 
> So, uh, I guess, if anyone wants to see something specific between these two happen just let me know and I /might/ include it? I mean I need more things to fill up space and make me feel comfortable so feel free to send me a message with ideas guys. That would be super great on my end. Also I'm trying to improve my writing to where I'm comfortable so I'm sorry if there are any long pauses between updates. I PROMISE NOT TO GIVE UP ON THIS EVEN IF IT ENDS CRAPPILY. 
> 
> There was more I wanted to say in here but I don't really remember so....yeah.

                During a quiet breakfast, the air had accumulated certain tension to it. The kind of tension where the air and silence is heavy and the awkwardness is high. The kind in which people want to say something, but have nothing to say. Their whole breakfast went as such. The only break from such a silence was when Karkat scolded Eridan and told him that if he was to stay for the winter, he was to do his fair share of things- including dishes.

                Currently, they are still doing dishes. The awkward tension is in the air again. It seems to have settled and found a nice home between them. The noises heard are of Eridan washing the dishes by hand and the clanking of Karkat drying and putting them away. It continued like this for quite a while, until the last plate was placed away and everything was tidy. It was then that the Cancer finally spoke up, “I’ll be in my respiteblock if you need me. Make yourself at home or whatever, after all you are staying here all fucking winter. The TV is in the next block over.” Karkat huffed quietly and left Eridan alone in the kitchen. This wasn’t at all how Eridan pictured things going, and now kitchen felt colder when the other left. It felt completely empty. Eridan watched the other leave him there, and he felt completely and utterly alone. He put one of his hands on a chair and leaned on it. He wasn’t sure what he was going to do. It was awkward as hell in this hive for him. He felt that Karkat didn’t even want him there, and Eridan sure as hell didn’t want Karkat to be irritated with him all winter. He sat down in the chair he had been leaning on and rested his chin in his hands. He was thinking. Maybe he could try and be a little nicer, or something…but what if Karkat thought he was flirting with him and hated him for it? Eridan crossed his arms on the table and buried his head in his arms. Thinking was hard and having feelings for your friend made things worse. “Ugh…”

                Karkat was in his block by then. He closed his door and leaned against it, hands forcefully on his face with nails almost digging in his skin. He felt like a fucking idiot. There was no way in hell he was going to apologize to the sea-dweller, but he knew it was probably needed. Karkat knew himself to be a terrible troll. He was a terrible friend, and a terrible host. He stayed in that position against the wall, filled with self loathing. He grumbled to himself and tried to force it out of his thoughts. He went to his desk and promptly sat in his chair. He sat cross-legged in the chair that had no arms, and turned his husktop on. It lit up and beeped to life. Maybe he could take out some frustration by arguing with Sollux. He’d ask the other for advice on entertaining company…but Sollux would be a terrible troll to ask for advice on this.

                Eridan, who still hadn’t moved from his spot, eventually lifted his head, sighed, and got up. He headed towards his own temporary respiteblock. He needed advice as well, and he knew exactly who to ask. He needed his moirail right now. He didn’t know what to do, but she could help. He shuffled through his things, tossing a couple of things here and there until he found his husktop. In a rush, he turned it on and waited- not very patiently. “Come on, come on, fef you better be online, I sw-wear….come on stupid husktop!” His computer seemed to reluctantly hum to life and he responded, “Finally!” His fingers danced across his keyboard as he signed in. The Aquarian’s fingers accustom to typing in the same Trollian handle and password. He went online and changed to invisible as soon as he saw Karkat was also online. Though he wasn’t even sure why he had done that in the first place, he didn’t think too hard on it. He looked down his list of trolls who were online: Karkat, Terezi, Tavros, Gamzee, Sollux…. Damn it! Feferi wasn’t online. He even sent a message to her experimentally to see if maybe she was on invisible just like he was, but she wasn’t. Eridan nearly threw a fit right then and there like a helpless little wriggler. He wasn’t sure what to do and now he knew that he would have to figure it out himself. He shut his husktop forcefully and shoved it away from him. He sat there, on the floor, with his knees to his chest and his back against the recuperacoon.

                Several minutes passed as he thought. He thought and he thought. His thoughts became duller as the time went on, and he wasn’t even sure how long he had been sitting there. All he knew was that he felt warm, and that his butt was going numb from sitting like that for so long. He shifted slightly, still trying to come up with how to make Karkat act like he used to, before Eridan asked to stay with him. He thought so long and so hard about it that his mind got hazy. He was starting to get tired, and before he knew it he was asleep on the floor next to the recuperacoon. His figure was leaning back against the ‘coon, legs as close as they could be to himself and his arms staying just as close to keep warm. It wasn’t the most comfortable position but it was fine for him. He stayed sleeping for a while, and he missed lunch because of it, in which Karkat had to go look for him only to see him sleeping. The Cancer shook his head slightly at the sight and brought a blanket to keep the idiot warm since he seemed to be shivering. He also moved him so Eridan’s neck wouldn’t be sore when he woke up. The Aquarius didn’t feel a thing as he was moved, covered, and cared for. Before the Cancer left him again, he wrote a note and set it nearby so the other would be able to wake up and read it. It read: ‘HEY SLEEPING DUMBASS, YOU MISSED LUNCH. THERE’S A PLATE WAITING FOR YOU IN THE NUTRITIONBLOCK.’

                Eridan slept for hours, which was oddly surprising since it had been night, which was like day for humans to trolla. When he did wake up the terrible Alternian sun was out, and even though it was usually hot at day, it was terribly cold this time. Though, it was probably cold from the thick clouds that covered up the sun.  Eridan woke up, eyes watery and blurry from sleeping so long. He didn’t move, just kind of staying where he was as he tried to recall where he was and what was going on. There were voices coming from downstairs that he didn’t recognize at all. Soon he managed to remember that he was inside Karkat’s hive, and that he must have fallen asleep. Those voices were probably, hopefully, the TV. What puzzled him the most was the blanket around him; he didn’t recall that at all. He eventually understood where it came from once he saw and read the note. Eridan’s cheeks warmed at the thought of Karkat covering him up and leaving him food. Honestly, he would have thought Karkat would have just let him starve for sleeping through lunch. His stomach rumbled and growled at him, a clear indication that he was in fact hungry. Rather quickly he got up still feeling a swell of minute happiness as he headed down the stairs to the nutritionblock.

               Sure enough, Eridan found a plate of food waiting for him in what humans would call a microwave. He warmed up his food a bit and decided he would watch some TV—though he was pretty sure Karkat was already doing that. The voices got louder as he neared the block with the TV. The block itself was pretty large, there was a shelving unit, a long coffee table, a couch, and of course the TV. On the couch was a shit ton of pillows, including a bundle of blankets that contained Karkat. It seemed the lower blood didn’t notice the other enter until Eridan sat on the couch near him. “Morning, sleeping dumbass,” Karkat spoke without looking at the other troll. He paused the movie that was playing, which was where the voices were coming from for sure, and looked at him. Upon eyeing the food that Eridan had brought into his livingroom-like block, he spoke up, “Spill that food and I will gut you,” his words were plain, but his tone wasn’t threatening. Eridan looked at him surprised, and spoke with his mouth half full, “I ain’t goin’ to spill it.” He swallowed and became more careful with his food, not really sure if Karkat would actually gut him or not, but he sure as hell didn’t want to take that chance. Karkat eyed him for a moment to make sure Eridan wouldn’t spill the food before turning back to the TV and resuming the movie.

               Eridan leaned back as he ate his food so that if he did end up spilling some food it would be over him, or just back onto the plate. Upon seeing that Karkat kept his legs and feet on the couch, Eridan assumed it would be fine with him doing the same. Since he couldn’t really see the Cancer’s feet due to the blankets bundling him, Eridan took off his shoes and such before resting his legs on the couch just to be safe.

               Unlike the tense air of the morning, this time there was almost a peaceful presence between the two. Karkat seemed a hell of a lot more calm and relaxed than he had been, that’s for sure. Eridan just passed it off, assuming that maybe Karkat just needed a bit of time to get used to him being there. Though, he had to admit that it took a surprisingly short amount of time if that was the case. “Hey Kar?” the Aquarian spoke up, not realizing that Karkat was so engrossed in the movie he didn’t even notice Eridan’s voice. “Thanks for lettin’ me stay here.” He spoke just above a mumble so he could be understood, but it still didn’t catch the Cancer’s attention. Karkat didn’t reply at all, not even acknowledging something was being said to him.


End file.
